Monday, August 11, 2008
I’m not sure if it was the weather or the half tights or Coach Eyestone being there or perhaps it was the Rice Krispy cereal cause I got the snap, crackle, pop back in my legs. Today was the first workout in China that I felt sharp and relaxed the whole time. I warmed up for 20 minutes. Then I did a warm up 800 meter at 2:09. After a lap jog, I did a 1200 meter with the first 800 meters at 2:10, then the last lap at 57 seconds. I finished with 2x200 meters at 26.5 and 25.5. It’s about time I started feeling good. I was starting to worry, but now I’m ready to roll. I can’t wait for Saturday morning to get here. Coach Mann was commenting to Coach Eyestone that last week I was feeling “lower than whale poop.” It took me a moment to grasp that one, but that’s feeling pretty low.
I came back to the Village and grabbed a sandwich and banana, showered quick, and then met up with Alice Schmidt and Lindsey Anderson. We had to catch the shuttle over to watch the USA Women’s volleyball team play Cuba. Leo sold me out and went to the Nike hospitality center. It was still fun even though USA lost the first 3 games. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the Village because the whole shuttle system is messed up. They drop you off at one place and expect you to find the shuttle somewhere else. On top of that, some buses only take that specific sport, while others take athlete spectators. Well eventually we made it.
I did my second run of the day in this huge park. It was such a breath of fresh air to be able to run in a park. Even though it was all pavement or asphalt, there was a trail that went around this big lake. The landscaping is really pretty and there’s a series of bridges that weave through the gardens. It was quite pretty.
Did some abdominal work back in our dorm room. Thanks to Hilton Hotels for giving us the sleep care package so that I could do those on the light blanket as opposed to the tile floor.
Grabbed dinner real quick and Lindsey noticed Andre Kirilinko so we got a picture with a third Utah Jazz player. He is here representing Russia, and was very friendly. He signed Lindsey’s autograph journal and put something in there about Utah and Russia.
We jumped on the bus to the USA vs China women’s basketball game. It was a fiasco getting through security and they confiscated our water and my banana. But little did they know I had some almonds, Coco Puffs cereal, and dried cherries in there. The outside of the arena is pretty cool because it changes color every 30 seconds or so. It looks like it’s made of huge fluorescent bamboo shoots.
So far the athlete seats have been nothing special. We walked in and they showed us to floor side padded seats. Now that’s what I’m talking about. There were only a handful of athletes in our designated section, and a majority of them were the New Zealand women’s basketball team. It looked like it was going to be a close game…up until about 60 seconds. Then the USA started rolling away with it. It was fun to be able to cheer for our women because there weren’t many cheers in English. So when I shouted out something like, “Way to hustle Smith,” or, “That’s you Leslie,” a large group of Chinese fans would look over. 5 minutes into the game Kobe Bryant showed up and the fans went nuts. Everyone was trying to get as close to the athlete seating as possible to take pictures. And then the rest of the Dream Team showed up, and it was like Santa Claus at the mall. Everyone wanted to get pictures. Of course they were still all hanging over the rails about 50 feet away but that didn’t stop a few of them from trying to cross the security line. I would have loved to get another picture with LeBron James, but they were all there relaxing. I guess you could say there’s a mutual respect among superstars like us. J It was cool though to be sitting like 5 seats from those guys watching the game.
We hitched a ride home with the Kiwis. I love all Kiwis. The cute little flightless birds. The sweet convenient little fruit. And the generous Kiwi women’s basketball team, not so little, very tall actually. Oh and the Kiwi country in Lord of the Rings.
I fell asleep to the typing of Leo around 11:40PM. Way tired.
Tuesday, August, 2008
So tired in fact that I was too droggy to take my glasses off after using the restroom in the middle of the night. That’s the second time since I’ve been here. It’s tough to find your glasses when you don’t have them on. I did manage to get 8 hours of sleep last night, and it felt blissful. The search for my glasses would have to wait til after practice.
Ran for about 20 minutes at the USA High Performance Center. Did some hurdle drills, and then cooled down 10 minutes. At his point, it’s all about being fresh for race day. Underdoing it is better than overdoing it. I did go and do some abdominal work at the 24 Hour Fitness facility provided by the USOC (United States Olympic Committee). That was much better than doing them outside like last time.
Leo and I showered there, and then ate lunch while watching some USA Olympians. The food at the High Performance Center is really good. It’s healthy, has a good variety, and there’s 3 or 4 televisions showing different sports.
I took a cab to the New Balance Hospitality Center. It cost 24 yuan or a little less than $4. It was about a 20 minute drive. Taxis are very cheap, and very convenient…as long as there isn’t an Olympic Event blocking the streets. I got some gear from there. The one piece I will really enjoy is this huge book bag. There’s no such thing as “too big” when it comes to bags for carrying track gear around.
I just got back about and decided to shave…the face and the legs. It’s getting close to race day so I shave the legs. Does it help? I don’t know. Probably not since I do workouts for a month or so without shaving them and it’s fine. Maybe water isn’t retained as much without any leg hairs. Maybe it helps my legs look more defined. Maybe I like the way it feels when I slip under the covers at night. Regardless, it’s a tradition that I enjoy. I planned on shaving my head too. Just a normal trim, but my clippers rusted from the humidity while I was in Dalian. I’ll go to the barber here in the Village. It’s free and I hear the shampoo and massage your head after. Sweet! And yes, even Bic-ed heads get a shampooing. At least that’s what this big Kiwi ex-Rugby player told me.
Well it’s time to go for my second run of the day. The weather is great today. Clear skies are good, but that means it’s a little warmer. I’ll drink a bottle of water before heading out just to make sure I’m hydrated.
Good run. I went to the park again.
A little miracle happened today. I went to find out about my planner that I lost when we first went out to Dalian. I left it in the accredidation area on our way out. My planner doesn’t have a ton of important info, but it really helps keep my life organized. At the lost and found the guy kept asking me questions about it. I had already told him it was a navy blue and red planner with “Southern College of Optometry” written in gold. He asked how big it was, if there was a pen with it, where I lost it, what color it was? I was thinking they had all these checkboxes on the computer and he was cross referencing it. Well after 2 minutes he turns the computer screen and sure enough, there was a picture of it. So he unlocks this safe and I sign away my first child to get it back. Not really, but they asked for all of my passport info and contact info. I was glad they kept it in a bank safe, but it may be easier just to throw all that stuff in a cardboard box like most places and then scrounge through it.
After dinner we went to field hockey. It was USA vs Japan. We showed up at the start of the second half, and our seats were in the midst of the Chinese and Japanese fans. Japan was up 1-0. As soon as we started cheering typical American phrases like, “Let’s do it USA,” or “Be tough out there,” the fans would turn around and look at us like we were crazy. Eventually they warmed up to it and realized we were just enthusiastic about the game. We were really pulling for those USA ladies out there. I’m sure any of you sports fans know the feeling where you know if you cheer a little harder for your team, they’ll pull through. That one decibel louder or that cheer to that player’s number will make or break the game. That’s how we felt. If we, as fans and fellow Americans, put all our hearts into it, so would our players, and we could change fate. Well of course it worked as it always does. Ha ha. We tied the score with 10 minutes left. Field hockey is pretty exciting and there’s a ton I didn’t know. They wet down the field before the game, the ball can only go so high in the air in certain parts of the field, you can’t kick the ball, the teams wear skorts, and you have to be a little crazy to play it. It was fun.
On the walk back, this guy on a big 3-wheeler had this little Daschound on the back seat. It looked more like a brown pig with a long tail. Leo said, “Looks like they’re trying to fatten it up. Dinner!”
Leo started pretend racing and bumped into me “down the backstretch.” I asked him if there was a lot of physical contact in his races and he said yes. He said he’s caught elbows in his chest and stuff. Lindsey said, “But wouldn’t you be worried you’d get elbowed in the face.” That’s a crack at how short Leo is. We thought that was a good one.
Leo and I stopped by the hair salon and got trims. I went with the short race cut. Whit doesn’t care for it, but for me, it’s my business cut. I’ve had a couple of the volunteers at the security checks do double takes because my Athlete Credential photo is from the winter when I had long shaggy hair and a moustache and beard. Okay the moustache and beard are probably more like scruff, but I like to think big. They did indeed shampoo and condition the little hair that I had before the cut, and then my near bald head after. Leo and I made sure to get pictures with our stylists.
The Dream Team just won 97-73. I am in the Athlete Residence Center where we get wireless access, and the games are on 3 or 4 HD TVs. It’s wicked hot, and I’ll have to shower again today. I’m off to call Whit before I go to bed.
I’m not sure if it was the weather or the half tights or Coach Eyestone being there or perhaps it was the Rice Krispy cereal cause I got the snap, crackle, pop back in my legs. Today was the first workout in China that I felt sharp and relaxed the whole time. I warmed up for 20 minutes. Then I did a warm up 800 meter at 2:09. After a lap jog, I did a 1200 meter with the first 800 meters at 2:10, then the last lap at 57 seconds. I finished with 2x200 meters at 26.5 and 25.5. It’s about time I started feeling good. I was starting to worry, but now I’m ready to roll. I can’t wait for Saturday morning to get here. Coach Mann was commenting to Coach Eyestone that last week I was feeling “lower than whale poop.” It took me a moment to grasp that one, but that’s feeling pretty low.
I came back to the Village and grabbed a sandwich and banana, showered quick, and then met up with Alice Schmidt and Lindsey Anderson. We had to catch the shuttle over to watch the USA Women’s volleyball team play Cuba. Leo sold me out and went to the Nike hospitality center. It was still fun even though USA lost the first 3 games. It took us an hour and a half to get back to the Village because the whole shuttle system is messed up. They drop you off at one place and expect you to find the shuttle somewhere else. On top of that, some buses only take that specific sport, while others take athlete spectators. Well eventually we made it.
I did my second run of the day in this huge park. It was such a breath of fresh air to be able to run in a park. Even though it was all pavement or asphalt, there was a trail that went around this big lake. The landscaping is really pretty and there’s a series of bridges that weave through the gardens. It was quite pretty.
Did some abdominal work back in our dorm room. Thanks to Hilton Hotels for giving us the sleep care package so that I could do those on the light blanket as opposed to the tile floor.
Grabbed dinner real quick and Lindsey noticed Andre Kirilinko so we got a picture with a third Utah Jazz player. He is here representing Russia, and was very friendly. He signed Lindsey’s autograph journal and put something in there about Utah and Russia.
We jumped on the bus to the USA vs China women’s basketball game. It was a fiasco getting through security and they confiscated our water and my banana. But little did they know I had some almonds, Coco Puffs cereal, and dried cherries in there. The outside of the arena is pretty cool because it changes color every 30 seconds or so. It looks like it’s made of huge fluorescent bamboo shoots.
So far the athlete seats have been nothing special. We walked in and they showed us to floor side padded seats. Now that’s what I’m talking about. There were only a handful of athletes in our designated section, and a majority of them were the New Zealand women’s basketball team. It looked like it was going to be a close game…up until about 60 seconds. Then the USA started rolling away with it. It was fun to be able to cheer for our women because there weren’t many cheers in English. So when I shouted out something like, “Way to hustle Smith,” or, “That’s you Leslie,” a large group of Chinese fans would look over. 5 minutes into the game Kobe Bryant showed up and the fans went nuts. Everyone was trying to get as close to the athlete seating as possible to take pictures. And then the rest of the Dream Team showed up, and it was like Santa Claus at the mall. Everyone wanted to get pictures. Of course they were still all hanging over the rails about 50 feet away but that didn’t stop a few of them from trying to cross the security line. I would have loved to get another picture with LeBron James, but they were all there relaxing. I guess you could say there’s a mutual respect among superstars like us. J It was cool though to be sitting like 5 seats from those guys watching the game.
We hitched a ride home with the Kiwis. I love all Kiwis. The cute little flightless birds. The sweet convenient little fruit. And the generous Kiwi women’s basketball team, not so little, very tall actually. Oh and the Kiwi country in Lord of the Rings.
I fell asleep to the typing of Leo around 11:40PM. Way tired.
Tuesday, August, 2008
So tired in fact that I was too droggy to take my glasses off after using the restroom in the middle of the night. That’s the second time since I’ve been here. It’s tough to find your glasses when you don’t have them on. I did manage to get 8 hours of sleep last night, and it felt blissful. The search for my glasses would have to wait til after practice.
Ran for about 20 minutes at the USA High Performance Center. Did some hurdle drills, and then cooled down 10 minutes. At his point, it’s all about being fresh for race day. Underdoing it is better than overdoing it. I did go and do some abdominal work at the 24 Hour Fitness facility provided by the USOC (United States Olympic Committee). That was much better than doing them outside like last time.
Leo and I showered there, and then ate lunch while watching some USA Olympians. The food at the High Performance Center is really good. It’s healthy, has a good variety, and there’s 3 or 4 televisions showing different sports.
I took a cab to the New Balance Hospitality Center. It cost 24 yuan or a little less than $4. It was about a 20 minute drive. Taxis are very cheap, and very convenient…as long as there isn’t an Olympic Event blocking the streets. I got some gear from there. The one piece I will really enjoy is this huge book bag. There’s no such thing as “too big” when it comes to bags for carrying track gear around.
I just got back about and decided to shave…the face and the legs. It’s getting close to race day so I shave the legs. Does it help? I don’t know. Probably not since I do workouts for a month or so without shaving them and it’s fine. Maybe water isn’t retained as much without any leg hairs. Maybe it helps my legs look more defined. Maybe I like the way it feels when I slip under the covers at night. Regardless, it’s a tradition that I enjoy. I planned on shaving my head too. Just a normal trim, but my clippers rusted from the humidity while I was in Dalian. I’ll go to the barber here in the Village. It’s free and I hear the shampoo and massage your head after. Sweet! And yes, even Bic-ed heads get a shampooing. At least that’s what this big Kiwi ex-Rugby player told me.
Well it’s time to go for my second run of the day. The weather is great today. Clear skies are good, but that means it’s a little warmer. I’ll drink a bottle of water before heading out just to make sure I’m hydrated.
Good run. I went to the park again.
A little miracle happened today. I went to find out about my planner that I lost when we first went out to Dalian. I left it in the accredidation area on our way out. My planner doesn’t have a ton of important info, but it really helps keep my life organized. At the lost and found the guy kept asking me questions about it. I had already told him it was a navy blue and red planner with “Southern College of Optometry” written in gold. He asked how big it was, if there was a pen with it, where I lost it, what color it was? I was thinking they had all these checkboxes on the computer and he was cross referencing it. Well after 2 minutes he turns the computer screen and sure enough, there was a picture of it. So he unlocks this safe and I sign away my first child to get it back. Not really, but they asked for all of my passport info and contact info. I was glad they kept it in a bank safe, but it may be easier just to throw all that stuff in a cardboard box like most places and then scrounge through it.
After dinner we went to field hockey. It was USA vs Japan. We showed up at the start of the second half, and our seats were in the midst of the Chinese and Japanese fans. Japan was up 1-0. As soon as we started cheering typical American phrases like, “Let’s do it USA,” or “Be tough out there,” the fans would turn around and look at us like we were crazy. Eventually they warmed up to it and realized we were just enthusiastic about the game. We were really pulling for those USA ladies out there. I’m sure any of you sports fans know the feeling where you know if you cheer a little harder for your team, they’ll pull through. That one decibel louder or that cheer to that player’s number will make or break the game. That’s how we felt. If we, as fans and fellow Americans, put all our hearts into it, so would our players, and we could change fate. Well of course it worked as it always does. Ha ha. We tied the score with 10 minutes left. Field hockey is pretty exciting and there’s a ton I didn’t know. They wet down the field before the game, the ball can only go so high in the air in certain parts of the field, you can’t kick the ball, the teams wear skorts, and you have to be a little crazy to play it. It was fun.
On the walk back, this guy on a big 3-wheeler had this little Daschound on the back seat. It looked more like a brown pig with a long tail. Leo said, “Looks like they’re trying to fatten it up. Dinner!”
Leo started pretend racing and bumped into me “down the backstretch.” I asked him if there was a lot of physical contact in his races and he said yes. He said he’s caught elbows in his chest and stuff. Lindsey said, “But wouldn’t you be worried you’d get elbowed in the face.” That’s a crack at how short Leo is. We thought that was a good one.
Leo and I stopped by the hair salon and got trims. I went with the short race cut. Whit doesn’t care for it, but for me, it’s my business cut. I’ve had a couple of the volunteers at the security checks do double takes because my Athlete Credential photo is from the winter when I had long shaggy hair and a moustache and beard. Okay the moustache and beard are probably more like scruff, but I like to think big. They did indeed shampoo and condition the little hair that I had before the cut, and then my near bald head after. Leo and I made sure to get pictures with our stylists.
The Dream Team just won 97-73. I am in the Athlete Residence Center where we get wireless access, and the games are on 3 or 4 HD TVs. It’s wicked hot, and I’ll have to shower again today. I’m off to call Whit before I go to bed.
2 comments:
LEBRON JAMES!!!!!!! That is sooooooooo Awesome! Way to stick to your Cleveland roots!
Everything looked so awesome up until the moment when i realized that the worst President ever (George Bush) was in between on one of the pictures, yawk! But regardless, very good pictures man!
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